Together rural communities, land managers, agencies, and counties are creating a vision to leverage the power of outdoor recreation to strengthen main street revitalization, contributing to stewardship of public lands and creating new opportunities for prosperity.
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Tuesday, June 02, 2020
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM (Pacific Time) {more time zones}
Cost (RECORDING):
FREE for membersNote:
Closed Captioning is available for this webinar.
Learning Credits are available for this webinar.
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The California Trails and Greenways webinar series is offered in coordination with California State Parks and the California Trails Conference Foundation, with content selected from the California Trails and Greenways 2020 program.
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About this webinar:
Q&A: The presenters will open up the floor to attendee questions following each of their presentations. We welcome attendees to send questions in advance when registering for the webinar (either during the registration process or via email).
Outdoor recreation is a growing contributor to the economy in many communities and also provides an opportunity for residents and visitors alike to improve their wellness and connection to natural resources and the environment. But did you know that recreation can also be a driver for main street revitalization? This webinar will share stories from the new EPA Recreation Economy for Rural Communities planning assistance program, a federal partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Forest Service to support rural communities that are leveraging the power of outdoor recreation to revitalize their main streets and diversify their economies. Through the first round of this program, ten small towns across the country are bringing together community leaders, outdoor recreation businesses, residents, and other partners to plan for the future of outdoor recreation in their community’s story. These communities are building new trail systems and connecting them to downtown, engaging diverse groups of community residents who have not been traditionally engaged in community planning, and tackling how to conserve the resources that make their community special.
In this webinar, we will hear from EPA about the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities program and from a representative of one of the partner communities – Jasper, Alabama – about how this community is leveraging outdoor recreation and supporting downtown revitalization. We will also hear from the USDA Forest Service about how it is working in California to collaboratively envision, create, and maintain the trail system by engaging communities to implement community trail priorities. Together communities, land managers, agencies, and counties are creating a vision to preserve and celebrate the character of communities, contribute to land stewardship of public lands, and create new opportunities for prosperity. Come ready to be inspired with ideas you can take home to your community!
Stephanie Bertaina, Senior Policy Analyst, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Community Revitalization
Washington, DC
Stephanie Bertaina is a Senior Policy Analyst with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Community Revitalization in Washington DC, where she works with rural communities and small towns to build vibrant, healthy, sustainable, and inclusive neighborhoods and downtowns. Stephanie coordinates the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities program, which is partnering with rural communities across the country to help them leverage the power of outdoor recreation to diversify local economies and revitalize main streets. Stephanie received an M.S. in Environmental Policy and Planning from the University of Michigan and Bachelor degrees from Westmont College.
Garrett Villanueva, Regional Trail and Travel Management Program Leader, USDA Forest Service
Garrett Villanueva has worked with the US Forest Service since 1998. His passion and full time job is with trails and land stewardship. While Garrett likes nothing more than to dig in the dirt, his job has evolved from technical and trail design to trail operations, policy and partnerships. He currently leads the trail program for the US Forest Service for the Pacific Southwest Region encompassing the beautiful state of California. Garrett has been invited to participate with land managers in both Israel and Brazil in trail management and worked with complex trail issues throughout California. In his free time he enjoys Nordic and alpine skiing, cycling, hiking, paddle boarding and surfing with his family.
Elyse Peters, Assistant Vice President for Community Impact, United Way of Central Alabama
Jasper, Alabama
Elyse Peters is the Assistant Vice President for Community Impact for United Way of Central Alabama. Since 2014, Elyse’s main role has been to manage the Walker County Health Action Partnership, a coalition of agencies, businesses and individuals working together to make Walker County, Alabama a healthier place to live, learn, work and play. Alabama has many best-kept secrets, and one of them is our diverse natural beauty. Through public-private partnerships, the Livable Communities partners have been successful in expanding existing outdoor recreation spaces as well as identifying new opportunities to get people outside and physically active. Last year, local partners identified the RERC as a chance to connect this growing demand for outdoor recreation with local economies and our budding Downtown.
Elyse is a graduate of the University of Alabama’s New College program, were she received her depth study in Environmental Justice and Civic Engagement. Elyse was a recipient of the 2019 Hulet Hornbeck Emerging Leaders Scholarship Program through American Trails.
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